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A member of the palm family, the betel-nut or areca-nut, known scientifically as Areca catechu, is a relative of the coconut (Cocos nucifera). Betel is composed of the areca nut, the leaf of the betel pepper (Piper betle), and lime (calcium hydroxide). Betel nut chewing is an ancient cultural tradition by islanders of both genders. Unlike other betel nut chewing areas, it is not always easy to supply fresh betel nuts to local betel nut chewers in the CNMI since betel nut harvesting in the CNMI is seasonal and availability of supply relies largely on the production of neighboring islands such as Yap or Pohnpei in which different variety of betel nuts are harvested in different season. The price of betel nut is inexpensive and stable during the harvesting season, however the demand for the betel nut is much greater than the supply during the non-harvesting season. If the supply is still available during a certain period of time after the harvesting season, it will be the great impact to local betel nut chewers in both economical and emotional aspects. Once betel nuts are harvested, the nuts in plastic bags could be stored 7 to 10 days at room temperature, which is the probable shelf-life of betel nuts sold in the CNMI. As the storage period extends, the texture of the husk and kernel becomes harder and the total juiciness of betel nut decreases. When hard type of betel nut is stored in a moist condition in order to prevent these quality losses, the nuts germinate and the kernels turn cottony in texture which are also not preferable to consumers. Betel nuts are frequently infected by pathogenic microorganisms such as Aspergillus and Penicillium producing myco-toxins such as aflatoxin and ochratoxin A, respectively. <P>
For these reasons, this project will be focused: 1) to study effective preservation technologies to extend the shelf-life of betel nut in the CNMI, 2) to prevent quantity loss in betel nut stock and ensure the local farmer incomes, 3) to investigate the microbiological quality of the betel nuts sold in local markets in the CNMI and those imported from neighboring islands, and 4) to improve post-harvest practice to maintain the quality of this specialty crop.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: After this specialty crop is harvested, the quality will be deteriorated in proportion to the storage period. During the post-harvest period, betel nuts respire to take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide, moisture, and heat, which cause the growth of molds, damage the quality of this crop. These changes are accelerated by storage temperature, atmosphere, and enzymatic reactions. In this proposed project, different storage conditions such as temperature, storage atmosphere, and moisture will be investigated. Also, the enzyme inactivation by blanching will be applied to maintain the quality of betel nuts. It is obvious that these appropriate post-harvest practices and preservation technologies for agricultural produce are urgently needed in the CNMI. Nevertheless these knowledge and technologies have never been systematically studied due to the lack of research facility for food safety and quality until now. The knowledge and technologies obtained from this project will be applied to improve the quality and extend shelf-life of a variety of tropical produce in this area. The achievement of the proposed project will be an excellent model for our neighboring islands in the South Pacific which have the same difficulties in post-harvesting practices and preservation of their valuable agricultural commodities. The collected data and information will be provided to those pacific islanders as well as the CNMI in order to help them to improve the quality of agricultural produce. For these reasons, the proposed project is extremely critical to improve the quality of fresh produce and increase farmers and producers?? income in the CNMI. Furthermore, this project will provide a technological foundation for the development of value-added products using fresh agricultural produce in this area.
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APPROACH: This proposed project will be accomplished in three years. The equipments and facility for the post-harvest practice will be prepared for the first year of the project and also the microbiological quality of imported betel nuts will be evaluated during this period of time. The good post-harvest practices for betel nuts in the CNMI will be studied and the various preservation technologies will be applied to maintain the quality of betel nuts during the second year period. During this second year of the project, the several different preservation methods will be combined and applied based on the antimicrobial hurdle concept. The microbiological quality of local betel nuts will be evaluated during this period of time. During the last year of the project, the whole project will be evaluated to assess the achievement of the project and the insufficient parts of the project will be complemented. The final report of the project will be conducted. In post-harvest practices, betel nuts will be separated form the inflorescence, sorted to prevent cross-contamination. Sorted betel nuts will be washed, sanitized, and blanched by appropriate heat-treatment. In preservation methods study, The major factors affecting food deterioration during storage will be studied and controlled. These factors include growth and activities of microorganisms, activities of enzymes and other chemical reaction, gain or loss of moisture, inappropriate temperature, reaction with oxygen, light, physical stress or damage, and time. In Microbiological analysis, various microbial plate counting methods such as aerobic plate count (APC), Escherichia coli count, and molds and yeasts count will be conducted. Detailed procedures for the microbiological test will be conducted based on the standard methods from the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) and the American Public Health Association (APHA). All experimental data will be statistically analyzed using Statistical Analysis System (SAS, 5th Ed.).